The present invention relates generally to a holder or support for attachment to a wall, the holder being designed to hold a hand held electrical appliance such as a hair dryer or the like.
It is convenient to store hand held electrical appliances such as hair dryers, curling irons, shavers, and the like in places where they are readily accessible for use. In hotels, hair dryers are placed in wall mounted, shelf-like stands in bathrooms. One such stand is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,475 of Andis, which describes a cradle like device having a first, arcuate seat for receiving the head of the hair dryer, a recess for receiving the handle of the hair dryer at the location of the on-off switch, and a lower end on which the lower end of the dryer is seated. The recess is designed to automatically move the switch into an off position when-the hair dryer is seated in the device.
Other holders or stands for hair dryers are described in U.S. Design Pat. No. 347,538 of Fleischer, U.S. Design Pat. No. 414,364 of Malcolm, Sr., and U.S. Design Pat. No. 335,935 of Rouail. All of these holders are generally formed in one piece which is mounted on a vertical wall surface, and are relatively bulky.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved holder for an electrical appliance such as a hair dryer.
According to the present invention, a holder for a hand held appliance having a handle portion and a head portion with an electrical lead connected to the handle portion is provided, which comprises a first hook member, a second hook member, and at least one cross bar for connecting the two hook members together such that the hook members project outwardly from a flat surface to which the holder is secured, the hook members and cross bar being formed separately and being releasably securable to one another prior to attachment to a flat surface.
In one embodiment of the invention, each hook member has a first, generally straight portion extending from one end, and a curved, hook portion at the other end, and the cross member is secured between the straight portions of the hook members. The cross member has at least one angled bend such that the straight portion of the second hook member is secured at an angle to the straight portion of the first hook member. There may be two spaced cross members secured between the hook members for added strength, each cross member having an equivalent angled bend in its length. The cross members may also have openings for receiving suitable fasteners for securing the assembled holder to a flat surface such as a wall or cabinet.
In an exemplary embodiment, the opposite ends of the cross members have first snap engaging formations and the straight portions of the hook members have corresponding, second snap engaging formations for releasable snap engagement with the first formations on the cross members. In one example, the first snap engaging formations comprise pins of reduced dimensions projecting from the ends of the cross members, while the second snap engaging formations comprise corresponding openings in the straight portions of the hook members. The openings may extend all the way through the hook members, such that they may be secured to the cross members in a first orientation in which each hook portion extends in a first direction transverse to the cross bars, or in a second orientation in which each hook portion is rotated through 180xc2x0 from the first orientation to extend in a second direction opposite to the first direction. Since the first hook member is intended to support the head portion of an appliance such as a hair dryer, and the second hook member is intended to support the handle portion, the ability to assemble the holder with the hook portions extending in opposite directions allows the holder to be modified for right or left handed users.
The holder in the exemplary embodiment is assembled from three or four parts which are designed to snap together. This allows the assembly to be stored and shipped with the parts separated and stored in a generally flat, compact package. The parts may be of molded plastic material, such that they are lightweight, inexpensive to manufacture, and can be made in various colors to match bathroom color schemes.
The hair dryer holder of this invention is easy to assemble and may be mounted on any convenient surface such as a wall, cupboard surface, or the like. The holder will keep the hair dryer secure against the wall where it is conveniently ready for use. The hair dryer is held flat against the wall and does not project outwardly any significant distance or cause any obstruction. It can be installed near the outlet used by the dryer, so that the dryer does not need to be unplugged after use.